Thermostatic expansion valve and valve control element



Nov. 26, 194@ y L. c. SMITH THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVE AND VALVE CONTROL ELEMENT Filed Sept. 19, 3.936v

@Zag/ Patented Nov. 26, 1940 PATENT OFFICE THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVE AND VALVE CONTROL ELEMENT Lawrence C'. Smith, Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to Fedders Manufacturing Company, Inc., Buffalo, l

Application september 19,1936, serial 1\To.`1o1,649

, Y Y y 2 Claims. This invention vrelates to thermostatic `expan-` sion valves and particularly to that type of valve which nds application in controlling the flow of refrigerant, and it is concerned directly with the provision of an improved thermostatic valve and a unitary control element applicable to valves to convert them readily into eicient thermostatic controls.` y

Heretofore 'the art has recognized automatic expansion valves, inwhich there has been provided a *valve body with a diaphragm or like flexible memberli-responsive to pressure changes, and thermostatic expansion valves, in which the net effect of pressure changes is modified through the operationof a second flexible member vwhose distention is determined by the temperature at some point in the system. In order to convert one type ofuvalve into the other, it has merely been necessary to add or remove the thermostat or` -power element. lWhile `such assembled valves have vbeen widely used and have given a fair measure of satisfactory service, they have nevertheless been unduly expensive and have too frequently failed prematurely.

Some of` the causes for these disadvantages may be found in the concept of a thermostatic valve as an expansion valve plus a power element,

which has led to unnecessary manufacturing costs when compared to Valves made according to the present invention. Other causes are to be found in the extreme care which must be employedin effecting the accurate assembly of large numbers of valvesunless extreme care is used there are too many defective valves, and if such attention is constantly given, the cost is high.

In view of these practical considerations, the present invention contemplates a thermostatic expansion valve which is solely such a valve, as distinguished from an expansionfvalve to which a power element is coupled. To lthatend, it is proposed, according to one aspect of the invention, to provide a valve body having a part which may be likened to a breech for the reception of a unitary sub1-assembly of the flexible members constituting a cartridge which `can be quickly inserted into the breech. Such cartridge loading not onlycompletes the entire thermostatic expansion valve, but also leads to economies in I `manufacture without loss of precision, since the 50` cartridges may be made according to a high standard of uniformity.

It has also been customary in prior valvesto provide some type of adjustment for the power l...element to the end that irreducible variations 55: in uniformity could be 'corrected in the nal assembly, and also to modify the characteristic of the valve. The usual form fof adjustment has been to modify the volume of the power element for any given pressure and temperature condition. However, such type of adjustment intro- 5 duoes a material change of one controlling feature, as will be appreciated by reference to the gas law. In another aspect, therefore, the present invention contemplates a valve body to which may be connected a preformed power element of 10 constant volume under given conditions of temperature, pressure, vand Weight of thermostatic fluid-adjustment of the valve characteristic `being obtained through the high side of the system.

Other objects and advantages of the invention 1'5 will be appreciated from the following descrip-A tion of typical embodiments thereof, the novel features of which are set forth in the appended claims, and which are illustrated in' the accompanying drawing, wherein: 20

.Fig lis a view partly in section and partly in elevation of a complete thermostatic expansion valve;

Fig. 2 is a top View of the sleeve and attached thermostatic bellows; 1 25 Fig. 3 is a top viewof the pressure bellows and attached head;

Fig. 4 is a` section showing another form of control element sub-assembly; and,

Fig', `5 is a section showing still another em- 30 bodiment of the control element sub-assembly.

Referring first to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a complete valve including a body I0 formed with an inlet passage VII which communicates with a valve chamber I2 containing a valve seat I3 and 35 a valve needle I4. The seat I3 is formed with a central orifice .I5 communicating with an outlet passage I6, and this oriiice also receives an l actuator pin 20 for the needle I4. The pin 204 projects through the valve body in concentric relation with anopen chamber I'l serving as the breech into which the control cartridge may be tted.

Adjustment of the valve is elfected through the high pressure chamber I 2 through a threaded l adjusting stem I8 bearing against a spring I9` 45 which is in engagement with the needle I4. A gasketed packing 2| prevents leakage through y the stem system. Since the details of this spring and stem arrangement may be modified without departure from the subject matter herein claimed, and since they are further shown in my copending application Serial No. 113,877, led December 2, 1936, further description of the valve body is deemed unnecessary.

Disposed in the breech l1 and connected to the valve body I0 is a sub-assembly including the power element and pressure bellows or packless gland, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is in the nature of a self-contained cartridge. This unit comprises a substantially cylindrical casing 24, one end of which is closed by the integral end plate or cap 25.` `Disposed within the casing is a snugly fitted sleeve V26 formed at its upperv end with 'a circular ange 2l to which is secured one end y The opposite end of the of the bellows member 28. bellows 28 is afxed to a heady 29 which is axially formed with a depending bearing portion 43l) and a surrounding spring seat 3l for receiving a tube 34 which extends to aithermostatic bulb35.

It will be observed that when the foregoing parts are assembled, there is formed at the upper end of the cylinder a thermostatic chamber enclosed in part by the bellows 28 which may expand or contract under service conditions.

. The open endo-the casing 24 is sealed to form a'totally closed cartridge by means of a pressure bellows 36 Vsecured at its lower end to an inwardly flanged b-ushingl` adapted to be snugly tted within the, sleeve 26. The upper end of the pressurebellows is closed by a head 38 formed withV a central bearing socket 39, and adapted to receive a push pin 40 which, after assembly, contacts the bearing portion 3D of the bellows 2:8. A stop member ll in the form of a sleeve having an inwardly turned iange, may also be positioned within the sleeve 25 above the bushing ,31.

In vthe preferred modeof making the cartridge, the various parts areformed and the sleeve 26, with the power bellows 28 attached thereto, is inserted in the casing 2Q. Tl'le stop member 4I is then introduced and is pressedto its correct position by inserting the bushing 31 with the attached bellows'v 36` and head 38, -whichat this time contains the pin 4D. Movement of the bushingl may be made any amount desiredto bring the pin 40 into contact with the bearing point 30, under the conditions of contraction o-r pressure in the power bellows chamber whiclnl'lai/e` been adopted as the standard of uniformity. When the parts are properly aligned,v as may be readily A done due tothe simplicity ofthe parts.r and their ease of handlingV withoutgcomplicated gauges, the joint between thecasing Elly-sleeve 26,E and bushing` 31v is secured by solder, indicated by the numeral 42. i

rIt will thus be seen that there is provided a completely sealed operatingunit which, byvirtue of the type of structure utilized, may -be readily made by inexpensive' methods of manufacture, without, however, departing from a rigid standard of uniformity. T-he `entire cartridge is hermetically sealed by the pressure bellows 36 thus protecting the power bellows 28 from the effects of moisture. Since the parts are in effect preadjusted with respect toeach other, it will be apparent that, upon the charging of the, power bellows and bulb in the usual manner with saturated vapor, there is provided a control element for the valve body whose characteristics are pre- The complete cartridge` assembly vist then l simply dropped into the l0, to bring the bearing area of the pressure bellows head 38 into contact with the push pin 2D. With the parts so assembled, the cartridge is soli dered to the valve body, as indicated by the numeral 45. In operation, expansion or contraction of the power bellows 28 in response to temperature changes in the bulb 35 modiesthesetting of the valve 'as determinedby the pressure of the valve spring and refrigerant on the pressure bellows 36. It will thus be seen that the valve operates in conformity with the desired characteristics olfV a valve of this class, and that the valve of the present invention permits the attainment of precision operation with desirable economies.

In Fig. 4 the casing is in the form of a single sleeve 5D, having a ilared upper extremity 5I and an inwardly flanged lower extremity 52, to which one end of the pressure bellows 53 is secured. As

Iin` the first embodiment, the remaining end of this bellows is secured toa head 54 which is formed to receive a connectingpin. The ther-v breech Il of the valve body.

mostatic bellows 60 is'connected toupper and .i

lower heads 56 and 5l respectively, between which a compression spring FillV maybe mounted. The upper head 56 is formed with'a Vcentral hub 59 which is drilled to receive a thermostatic tube El. A cap 62, containing a central opening `63 engag-`l ing about the hub 59, isformed with a-anged periphery 64 which isvdis'posed in the flared end, 5|l of theA sleeve 50. The capw62 is `solderedlfto both the hub 59 and sleeve end 5| tovsealgthe unit. f

When the thermostatic unit is used inv an extremely low temperature installation it is advantageous to protect the thermostatic bellows from too rapidy heat exchangeaction with the valvel body and pressure bellows. For this purpose a wall or shield Blof hard fiber or other insulating material is pressed into the sleeve 5|! and into engagement with an annular bead 6,8. This shieldthus divides the air chamber C of the unit and prevents the circulation of airfrom the thermostatic bellows to the;pressure bellows. ,Asa further precautionary measure, the, shield is formed with a central aperture 69' in which ism-.

serted a ilexible rubber 'diaphragm` 65 formed Y with a pierced resilient portion lwhichY tightly engages the pin 55. f

The method of assembling this unit kwith ma,

5 comprises an enclosing sleeve ..1 l), having an up-: per flange H to which is secured one `end of the thermostatic bellows l2.` The 'remaining end of' the bellowsis securedto a head 1'3, 'and the thermostatic chamberv thus 'formed -is Asealed by a ilanged cap 'M which is secured to the lsleeve 10:.

The pressure bellowsA l5 is secured at its upperY end to a head 16, and at its lower end to a ilanged'v tubular member ll which'is received in the sleeve and is soldered thereto as indicated by the nu-f A shield 19 isvinterposed between the' bellows, and it contains a ce11tral",opening 8l' meral 73.

throughwhich the connecting' pin Y82 projects with slight clearance. VAs in Fig` l,`.the.shield4 serves as a stop member for the thermostatic bellows as it is rigidly supported on the. upperend. 83 of the member," 4to prevent excessive downward movement'ofthebellows. n 1 y It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the thermostatic unit or cartridge, depending upon its use and environment, is capable of many modifications falling within the scope. of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A thermostatic unit comprising a casing and a pair of expansible bellows, all of said elements being closed at one end, means securing the free extremity of one of said bellows to the closed end of the casing to provide a thermostatic chamber within said bellows, means securing the free extremity of the remaining bellows to the free eX- tremity of the casing to provide a sealed air chamber within the casing between the bellows, a wall member of insulating material` secured to the casing within the air chamber and formed with an opening, a flexible diaphragm mounted in the opening of the wall member and having a central orice, and a pin resiliently engaged in the orice of the diaphragm and having its extremities engaging adjoining closed end of the f two bellows.

2. A thermostatic unit comprising a casing formed of a cylindrical sleeve and a cap closing one end of the sleeve, the remaining end of the sleeve being formed with an inturned flange, a thermostatic bellows closed at both ends and having one end secured to the cap member, a sealing bellows closed at one end and having its free extremity secured to the flange of said sleeve, and a pin `in the casing connecting the adjoining ends of the two bellows.

LAWRENCE C. SMITH. 

